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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson recently provided more details about EPA’s planned approach to the regulation of greenhouse gases in the coming years. Responding to a February 19 letter from eight Democratic Senators from manufacturing and energy-producing states who had expressed concerns about EPA’s plans to use the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs, Jackson sought to allay the Senators’ concerns.

Specifically, in her written response, the Administrator provided additional details about EPA’s planned approach to GHG regulation that would ensure that the agency would regulate GHG emissions in “sensible ways…” That approach includes the following provisions:

No facility would have to address GHG emissions in permits of new construction or modification before 2011;

For the first half of 2011, only facilities that must already apply for Clean Air Act permits due to their non-GHG emissions would need to address GHGs in those permits; and

The smallest sources would not be subject to controls before 2016

Jackson also noted that the agency was considering a change to its GHG tailoring rule to ease the 25,000 TPY threshold “substantially” to reflect input from public comments. If adopted, this higher threshold would likely apply between the latter half of 2011 and 2013.